BUSCH: Fontana II: Round 27 preview

*It's The Life: Leffler's Living Large On And Off The Track
*Go Time: Season Heats Up At California
In The Loop: Kahne, Newman Set For Second Straight Battle
Leffler Brings Personal And Professional Turnaround Home To California
DAYTONA BEACH,...

*It's The Life: Leffler's Living Large On And Off The Track
*Go Time: Season Heats Up At California
In The Loop: Kahne, Newman Set For Second Straight Battle

Leffler Brings Personal And Professional Turnaround Home To California

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 28, 2007) -- Jason Leffler's (No. 38 Great Clips
Toyota) last trip to his home state to race at California Speedway in
February wasn't much to, well, visit home about.

An accident on Lap 88 ended his day and dropped him to a 38th-place finish.
That, coupled with his season-opening 22nd place at Daytona International
Speedway put a damper on his start to the 2007 season.

Fast-forward to the present and the native of Long Beach would certainly
agree -- what a difference seven months makes.

Off the track, Leffler and his wife, Allison, became parents to son, Charlie
Dean, on Aug. 16. Also during that span, Leffler has turned around his
season on the track.

"This trip back will be even more special for me because even though
everyone won't get to meet Charlie, I'll be able to show off new pictures of
him," Leffler said. "Fatherhood is something that is so amazing, it's
impossible to explain."

Leffler is setting a good example as far as resilience. He was 20th in the
standings following the May race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Since then, he's
catapulted into the top 10 in the standings -- he tied his career-best
ranking of third after registering Toyota's first series win at O'Reilly
Raceway Park at Indianapolis -- and improved his Driver Rating from 11th
(66.3 rating) to his current fifth-place standing (77.3).

He enters the California race fourth in the standings. He has two Busch
Poles this season, including last week at Bristol Motor Speedway where he
was second to Kasey Kahne (No 9 Vitamin Water Dodge) in one of the most
exciting races of the year. He also won the pole at California in the first
race in 2004.

September Signals Stretch Run For NASCAR Busch Series Teams

The second visit by the NASCAR Busch Series to California Speedway signals
the end of August and the beginning of the final stretch of the 35-race
season.

Carl Edwards (No. 60 Sharp Aquos Ford) maintains his lead in the driver
standings, but his Roush Fenway Racing team still faces the challenge of the
No. 29 Chevrolet of Richard Childress Racing -- this week driven by Jeff
Burton and sponsored by Holiday Inn -- in the owner standings. Scott Wimmer
also has driven the No. 29.

Edwards posted his best finish in his last three races -- 11th -- last week at
Bristol while Burton's 40th place due to an accident was his worst series
finish since consecutive 40th-place results last year.

Edwards won this race in 2005 while Burton has three top fives -- including
runner-up finishes in 1999 and 2000 -- and four top-10s in seven races at
California.

Wimmer also will be racing, but for a different team. He debuts for
California native and reigning series champion Kevin Harvick's KHI team in
the No. 77 Dollar General Chevrolet.

In The Loop: Kahne, Newman Set To Duke Out "Round Two; Owner Leaders Also
In The Mix

The two Dodge drivers staged a battle -- along with Jason Leffler -- during
the waning laps of last week's NASCAR Busch Series race at Bristol Motor
Speedway. Kahne was victorious, as a flat tire ended Newman's night.

They'll have another chance this weekend at California Speedway. Both have
enjoyed tremendous success at the 2-mile track, with Kahne winning this race
last season and Newman finishing second in his only NASCAR Busch Series
start at California in February of 2006.

The two also go toe-to-toe in many of the Loop Data statistics. In two
California races since 2005, Kahne has a Driver Rating of 118.1, an Average
Running Position of 6.0, and 24 Fastest Laps Run. In his lone California
start, Newman earned a Driver Rating of 120.8, an Average Running Position
of 3.5 and spent all but one of his laps in the top 15.

But that might be Saturday night's undercard compared to the owners'
standings battle between Carl Edwards and Jeff Burton.

The Roush Fenway Racing No. 60 -- driven exclusively by Edwards -- owns a
42-point cushion over the Richard Childress Racing No. 29 driven by both
Burton and Scott Wimmer this season. The stats say the neck-and-neck race
might get even tighter after Calilfornia.

Edwards and Burton have virtually identical stats at California:
- Driver Rating: Burton (115.7) nips Edwards (114.2);
- Average Running Position Burton (6.0) over Edwards (8.0);
- Fastest Laps Run: Edwards (84 in five races) over Burton (74 in three
races);
- Laps in the Top 15: Burton (91.3% of his laps were in the Top 15) over
Edwards (89.9% of his laps were in the Top 15).